I have worked in the vet business for years. My mother owns 3 very territorial doxies and I have a very boisterous coonhound. Under absolutely NO cercumstances would I consider such a ridiculous and unnecessary proceedure such as debarking. There are SO many other options out there, they just require some time to work. My mother has had great success with teaching "quiet" and my baying coonhound has finally learned when are appropriate times to communicate. All without that invasive surgery. Any GOOD vet would not encourage this surgery and does not ecourage this surgery because there are many many more humane options available. If you dont want a barking dog or you arent prepared to put the time in to train them appropriately, then dont get a dog, you obviously arent ready for one. Get a cat, at least they are quiet.

While I understand when given the option of debarking or a trip to the AC, debarking seems the kinder way to go. But, let's understand that there is another alternative. Don't choose a barky dog in the first place. Shelties are wonderful dogs, easily trained, and very pretty. How can one buy a sheltie, and another sheltie, and not know that they bark? It isn't a surprise, yet shelties are the breed most often debarked. It's not a leap to figure out that you can find a really nice, very trainable puppy or dog that is not a barker. Min Pins bark. If you don't like the constant high pitched yap of a tiny dog but you want a very small companion, get a papillon or a Boston terrier. If you don't like the overbarking ritual of the sheltie, get a different dog of similar temperament. Yes, you can train the dog sufficiently to reduce the barking (oops, that would take a little time and some commitment), but a barky dog is not going to become a nonbarker.

I visited a Collie breeder several years ago, and a beautiful 6 month old male greeted me at the door. He was a bit wobbly from anesthesia as he had just been debarked. As someone who has many years of veterinary experience, I know how the surgery is performed and it is not one I would ever recommend as a routine procedure. The breeder's response was that she lived in the city (she did have a nice sized, fenced yard) and she had 5 adult dogs (only three are allowed), so she had all her dogs debarked to avoid problems with the neighbors/animal control officials. I was quite shocked to learn that many show dogs are debarked; it's kind of a dirty little secret. On the other side(and there is always another side), we recently adopted a young puppy who, I believe, came out of the womb barking. He honestly never stops and after a month of living with him, I can see that a lifetime of this would be very frustrating. Fortunately, he IS learning to control his boisterous nature somewhat, and I can see slow progress being made, so I am hopeful. And as we live in a more country like setting, we do not have neighbors to worry about. Would I consider surgery for him? Not until I had exhausted every other alternative. But if placed in a situation where my choices were surgical intervention or re-homing my dog, I know what I'd choose.

There was just an article by a contributor to this magazine (VS) in another well known publication about debarking. Simply put it's very stressful for the dog because they lose their ability to communicate. She's against it of course. I have a 100 pound Akita-Shepherd mix who has a bark that can be heard throughout our neighborhood. But with patience and training we don't have a barking problem and I have a fantasic companion who alerts me only when someone comes right up to my front door.

I have a German Shepherd. Notorious for being vocal. My dog barks AT me every day, for a whole variety of reasons. And, he is loud. It does get on my nerves, and can be super annoying. He's going on 9 years old and I've been putting up with it for a long time. It's *who he is*. I can do training, I can get him to stop, for a few seconds at a time ha ha...but in NO WAY would I EVER put him under the knife to mutilate him for this behavior !!!! Granted it's not something he does that's annoying to neighbors, he's not as much of a random barker like that. If there's a noise, it's a normal outburst. Still, there are ways to modify behavior. Everyone looks for the quick fix, and it's not always the best option.

Seriously? Loose their license? They are doing NO HARM. These vets are saving dogs from screamed at, being shocked, beaten, hosed down- they save lives! I am a strong proponante of debarking. We now live with dogs in close proximity to others. We live in a society that is not tolerant of barking dogs. We must respect eachother.

Debarking is a quick surgery with results that allow a dog to bark bark bark and bark. AND, they do bark right after surgery! No too painful. The end result? The dog is not abused!

Case in point: I adopted a Pyrenees Mountain Dog (great Pyreneese) from Pyreneese rescue sight unseen, as I needed a guardian dog on 117 acre ranch. She was spayed and de-barked when I got her. She is BRED to BARK as are may other breeds. She can bark all night long now that we have moved closer to town. No neighbors have threatened to poison her or shoot her(yes that happens to barking dogs. She is a very happy girl with an important job- protecting our house from percieved threats.

Humor me here . . .you are a dog hard wired to bark bark bark. You can stay in your crate alone for 12 hours a day with your shock collar inside OR you can have a dog door and go out and bark at the cats, birds, squirrels anything threating your yard -have a real job? Yes your voice sounds raspy and it is not very loud but you can BARK!! You were born to bark!
What would you choose?

I had the same situation as comment #1. My neighbors were not always happy with us despite all our hard work at training and stimulation. We decided to rent a house instead so it wouldn't be such close quarters. We now have another dog too whose not quite as barky but it's not a huge problem now anyways since you hear dogs barking in the neighborhood all the time- and we're not sharing walls with anyone.
I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make life happy for myself, my dogs and everyone else around us. I can't believe someone would preform a surgery or get rid of their dogs because of excessive barking- they are dogs after all!

What I don't like about this article is it says: debark, or give up to a shelter? What about training? And training and training and training? I don't think a dog should potentially get euthanized because he barks, but I also don't think debarking should be made to sound like it's the only alternative when more exercize and training could potentially solve the problem.

Also, it sounds like vets aren't even being trained to do this anymore- sure a vet might say she can do it, but has she been trained to?

any vet who performs this surgery should have his license permenantly revoked. this is ridiculous

I find this very disturbing. I admit that I had my cats declawed when they were kittens. I did it because I was a new cat owner, having dogs my whole life, and relied on the advice of others. My vet also stayed neutral and didn't discourage it. I regret this now. I wish I hadn't done it. I think it's amazing how we can justify things in our heads sometimes. For example, maybe someone's excuse for doing this is that they live in an apartment building and they'll get thrown out if the dogs are noisy. We need to stop making decisions for our pets that result in cruel procedures like these and respect them as they are.

this is a sticky situation for sure..one I'm currently debating over and over. I own a territorial terrier who despite the amounts of physical and mental stimulation he gets during the week (daily runs, dog walker, agility training) he loves to bark. Barks at noises in the hallway, barks at people coming to the door, barks at a random leaf blowing in the wind.

He is a watch dog - I do like the protective aspect - it's why I chose him..but..in a downtown apartment - my neighbours aren't always as appreciative.

I've gone through de-sensitization, training, and while it has helped a bit..he simply loves the act of barking.

I don't know what my ultimate decision will be...I've gathered lots of information from people with this same breed who have done this and those that are for/against...as you say - I will not surrender him to a shelter over it - but also cannot afford to be evicted over it either.